Enjoy Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Heighten the Heat, With a Fireplace Insert!

On a frosty Okauchee day, nothing “warms” up a space (metaphorically speaking) like a blazing fireplace. The light, sound and movement all mix for a romantic, relaxing ambiance.

Unfortunate fact is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace barely warms a room. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat escapes through the chimney. An open fire actually sucks more heat out of a space than it could ever return. Homeowners endure a fire risk from airborne sparks landing on flammable surfaces, as well.

Ready to make your fireplace experience safer, far warmer and more comfortable with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Okauchee!

Going directly into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained appliance that sends heat directly into a room, rather than sending most through a chimney. The fire can be seen through a glass panel. The ambiance remains – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can select between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are offered by Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Okauchee. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is ideal for those who want immediate, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally turns on at the flip of a switch. Available in a wide range of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and little work to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert creates significantly more heat than gas. The work required is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically lit, wood added, and air controls adjusted to control the blaze. Because it burns so thoroughly, a wood fireplace insert uses much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap access to firewood in Okauchee, a wood burning insert can be additional heating source for a home.

The decision between gas or woodburning is entirely user preference. Many Okauchee homeowners proactively add insert-style fireplaces for enhanced heat and cleanliness, often when designing homes.

The alternative situation for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection discovers cracked or missing flue tiles. Installing a brand-new insert will avoid many issues, and is often less expensive than doing repairs. The decision might not be too hard.

Fireplace inserts are made of heavy-gauge sheet steel. The doors are cast iron, which allows great heat conduction. Fire is completely enclosed within, viewable through ceramic glass, and can be left unattended.

Smoke is expelled through a new stainless steel liner added inside the chimney. Wood fireplace inserts use a single 6-inch liner; gas, two 3-inch liners, one for delivering air to the firebox, and another for expelling gases.

Butler Chimneys regularly installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Okauchee in one day. If the former is added, a new fuel line is run from a gas source elsewhere in the house.

New stainless steel chimney liners carry lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes allow homeowners to bypass pricey chimney repairs that would otherwise be needed to ensure safe venting of fireplace gases.

Another advantage of fireplace inserts? If power goes out, they remain a steady, reliable heat source. In severe weather, they can literally be a lifesaver.

Ready to look into a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!